​OFRA YITZHAKI


PRESS QUOTES

"A captivating program which, in Yitzhaki's hands, is about to turn into an exceptional recital: Ravel, Liszt, Couperin, Scarlatti, Chopin and Bardanashvili"
Amir Mandel, Ha'aretz Daily, 6.4.22, about a recital at the Israel Conservatory of Music
"The excellent achievements of the festival should be attributed to pianist Ofra Yitzhaki, the new artistic director"
Hagai Hitron, Ha'aretz Daily, 7.12.2021, about the Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee Festival
"Soprano Einat Aronstein teamed up with Yitzhaki for a highly emotive delivery of "Confession" by Sasha Argov"
Barry Davies, The Jerusalem Post, 3.7.22, about the Voice of Music in the Upper Galilee Festival
"Yitzhaki's playing is wonderful: Percise, perfectly controlled, and yet full of power and expression and very moving"
Amir Mandel, Ha'earetz Daily, Israel, 26.12.20, about a recital at the Israel Music Fest
“Ofra Yitzhaki played the demanding piano part of Ben-Haim’s songs with great delicacy and sensibility. The high quality and niveau of her playing were clear again in Joseph Tal’s Piano Concerto, played with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra”.
Neue Musikzeitung (“New Music-Journal”), Germany, September 2017, about a performance of Joseph Tal's concerto in Berlin
"The supreme soloist Ofra Yitzhaki showed astonishing melodic qualities. She made the thematic connection clear, yet without losing any of the force and harshness required by this musical work”.
Berlin Tagesspiegel, 18.7.2017, about a performance of Joseph Tal's concerto in Berlin
"Ofra Yitzhaki’s performance of Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” was superb. The sound of the piano was the most pleasant one can imagine, possessing extreme clarity and yet avoiding any dryness. Yitzhaki’s interpretation avoided emphasizing the extremely demanding technical facets of this work and presented it in a gentle, captivating manner.”
Hagai Hitron, Ha’aretz Daily, Israel, 13.11.2016, about Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" in Hateiva, Tel Aviv
“Renowned Israeli classical pianist Ofra Yitzhaki is looking forward to performing Ravel’s “mad work” ("Gaspard de la nuit") at Hateiva Marathon Festival” - For full article about Yitzhaki’s upcoming performance of Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” please click here
​Barry Davis, Jerusalem Post, 2.11.2016
“Yitzhaki's playing combines in it grandeur and sensitivity. Her performance of the Andante from Brahms's Sonata was simply superb.”
​Christian Knatz, Echo Online, 14.6.2014, about a recital in "Hessentag Festival", Germany
"Ofra Yitzhaki’s playing shone again with its unbelievable lyrical qualities.
​She clearly belongs in the first row of Mozart interpreters of our time."
Bergsträßer Anzeiger, Germany, 14.06.2014, about a recital in "Hessentag Festival", Germany
“Hearing Schumann's 'Scenes from Childhood' played by this extraordinary artist, one has the impression of listening to a completely new work: Yitzhaki's playing is so transparent that even the smallest motive is crystal-clear. This is exactly what Clara Schumann describes, in her letters, as 'moving simplicity". 
Alexander Lueck, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany, 4.2.2013, about a Schumann-Recital 
“Dr. Ofra Yitzhaki kindled a firework of passions ... A performance of real brilliance and ingenuity.”
Hellweger Anzeiger, Germany, 5.2.2013, about a recital in Froendenberg, Germany
“Mordecai Seter's Piano Sonata and Nizan Leibovich's 'Adayim' were both performed by the masterful hands of Ofra Yitzhaki."
Hagai Hitron, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 24.10.2012
“Yitzhaki's performance is a mix of a profound understanding and analysis with a secure feeling for the emotional world of each work.”  
Karin Pfeifer, Bergsträßer Anzeiger, Germany, 24.4.2012, about a recital in Bensheim, Germany
“The concert concluded with a modernist Masterpiece – Ligeti's Piano Concerto – superbly performed by Ofra Yitzhaki.”   
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Haaretz Daily New, Israel, 21.10. 2012, about a performance of Ligeti's piano concerto with the Israel Contemporary Players
“Pianist Ofra Yitzhaki and the 'Israel Contemporary Players' gave a truly sensational performance of  Liget's Piano Concerto.”  
Yossi Schifman, 'Morning Show' on Reshet Bet, Israeli National Radio, 21.10.2012, about a performance of Ligeti's piano concerto  
“A recital with one of Israel's superb pianists, Ofra Yitzhaki. Yitzhaki often performs  with New-Music ensembles and her command of the impossible modernistic scores is spectacular. Here she shows that classical music is just as natural to her, with music of Mendelssohn, Scarlatti
and Schubert."
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 28.2.2011, about a Recital at the Jerusalem Theater
"Yitzhaki performed the solo part with structural clarity, great virtuosity and utmost sensibility" 
​Albrecht Schmidt, Darmstädter Echo, Germany, 16.2.2010, about a performance of Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' at the Darmstadt Theater with the Merck Philharmonie
“Ofra Yitzhaki played with great joy, spirit and vitality.”  
Giessener Anzeiger, Germany, 6.3.2010, about a Lieder-Recital in Giessen, Germany
“Yitzhaki played Clara Schumann's Romance For Piano Op.21 with virtuosity, éclat, and transparency of sound and texture."
Giessener Allgemeine, Germany, 6.3.2010, about a Schumann-Recital in Giessen, Germany
“The audience celebrated Yitzhaki's performane with multiple enthusiastic standing ovations... She performed Mendelssohn's Rondo Capriccioso with a virtuosity that literally made the listeners jump off their chairs with enthusiasm."
Münstersche Zeitung, Germany 9.3.2010, about a recital in Froendenberg, Germany
“Everything is crystal-clear in her Bach playing: The melodies resemble a drawing, the textures a painting. Her thoroughly though-out performance lets each work shine as a unique jewel in its own colors.”
Christian Knatz, Darmstädter Echo, Germany, 12.10.2009, about a recital in Bensheim, Germany
“As soon as Ofra Yitzhaki starts playing, it all becomes clear:  Here at the piano sits an important, distinguished pianist, that has much to say through her music. All star-mannerisms are foreign to her: At her level, she can easily and completely give up on those formalities... The playing of Ofra Yitzhaki is all thought-out and at the same time characterized by deepest musicality. It is out of this combination that her fascinating interpretations come into being.”
Karin Pfeifer, Bergsträßer Anzeiger, Germany, 13.10.2009, about a recital in Bensheim, Germany
“Ofra Yitzhaki gave a brilliant performance of Paul Ben-Haim's Sonatina Op. 38, presenting a great variety of accents and nuances. The audience was captivated by her clean interpretation of Mendelssohn's 'Songs without Words' and fascinated by her virtuosity at his 'Rondo Capriccioso'.
Mareike Bader, Oberhessische Presse, Germany, 11.11.2009, about a recital in Marburg, Germany
"World-Class Pianist Dr. Ofra Yitzhaki presented composers from her native country Israel through a virtuoso performance of their music."
Ingelheimer Wochenblatt, Germany, 7.5.2009, about a recital of Israeli Music at the Open University of Ingelheim
“Yitzhaki's interpretation of Mendelssohn's piano works captivated the listeners by great  intensity and through caressing, loving presentation of even the most challenging musical phrases. Her playing of Bach's Chorale-Prelude 'Zion Hears the Watchman Singing' was extraordinarily beautiful.” 
Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany, 5.5.2009, about a recital in Ingelheim, Germany
“Ofra Yitzhaki, a profound and virtuoso artist, represents the Ensemble's strive to present superb interpretations with top-notch soloists and conductors.” 
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 6.11.2008 
“Young Israeli pianist Ofra Yitzhaki devotes herself enthusiastically to the works of J.S. Bach. Her Playing reminds of the great Rosalyn Tureck. It is physical, sensual, ecstatic.”
Der Tagesspiegel, Berlin, Germany, 21.8.2008, about a Bach-recital in Berlin
“Yitzhaki gave a virtuoso performance of Chopin's Piano Concerto No.1. She performed with the orchestra once before, over a decade ago, and her polished, secure performance was no surprise.”
Eileen Wingard, San Diego Jewish World, U.S.A., April 2008, about a performance of Chopin's 1st concerto in San Diego, U.S.A.
“Yitzhaki played with such sensitive intensity, that the listeners were drawn completely into the music already with the first stroke of key. One can only guess that, had the Master Bach been able to hear this concert, it would have been of great joy to him.”
Dr. Horst-Walter Schwager, Koenigsteiner Woche, Germany, 27.5. 2008, about a Bach-Recital in Koenigstein, Germany
“With Israeli pianist Ofra Yitzhaki, whose playing was breathtakingly beautiful, the group presented a new, superb league for the performance of modern music.”
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily, Israel, 14.5.2008, about a concert with soloists of Ensemble Intercontemporain
“Whoever listens to Ofra Yitzhaki's perfectly polished and still wonderfully personal performance of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, must place her in one line with the best Bach pianists of our time. Her playing is amazingly secure in all matters of style and fascinating in its richness of nuances. Had there been Bach recordings of Clara Haskil, perhaps they would have sounded like the playing of this young Israeli pianist: filled with brilliance and cheerful spirituality yet lacking any vanity. Pure happiness for the listener.” 
Klaus Ross, Bergsträßer Anzeiger, Germany, 31.10.2007, about a Bach-recital
“Ofra Yitzhaki presented an outstanding performance of Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C major, playing with such dignity one rarely finds even with the best 'Bach-Interpreters'”.
Julia Schmidt, Hofheimer Zeitung, Germany, 25.5.2007, about a performance in Hofheim, Germany
“This pianist exudes confidence and an infectious sense of pure enjoyment: She seems naturally delighted to play Bach. While staying within the strictures of the Baroque, she demonstrated her profound phrasing abilities. Technically, she is exemplary.”   
Fred Kirshnit, The New York Sun, U.S.A., 7.6.2006, about a Bach-recital in Manhattan's Trinity Church
“A magnificent pianist, Ofra Yitzhaki, presents a recital full of imagination, with an unusual collection of Bach’s music: Preludes and Fugues, Inventions, and an English Suite. Charles Ives’s First Piano Sonata, closing the program, will exhibit the additional facet in Yitzhaki’s musical personality: Her specialism in Twentieth-Century Music.”
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 7.6.2006, about a recital at the Jerusalem Theater
“Ofra Yitzhaki's piano solo amounted to a veritable 'tour de force' of synchronization with a magnetic tape in Luigi Nono's 'Suffering Serene Waves' (1976). Yitzhaki took up the challenge valiantly, earning the audience's enthusiastic applause.”   
Uri Eppstein, The Jerusalem Post, 2.3.2005, about a performance of Nono's "sofferte onde serene" for piano and electronics
“An Israeli artist of the highest order”.
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 23.12.2005, about a radio braodcast of New Music performances
“The Performance by Ofra Yitzhaki was downright sensational, not only for its structural clarity but also for its firm grasp of the deep communal fervency that motivates this extraordinary musical adventure.”
Peter G. Davis, New York Magazine, 16.2.2004, about a performance of Charles Ives's 1st Piano Sonata in Lincoln Center, New York
“The young pianist succeeded in shedding light on some new aspects of Mozart’s music while keeping a functional, informal relationship with the conductor.”   
Dumitru Avakian, Romania Libera, Romania, 2.11.2004, about a performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 595 with the Rumanian Radio Orchestra
“Yitzhaki rendered the extremely intricate modern pieces with amazing intellectual insight, emotional involvement and formidable musical command. She finished her program with Bach's French Overture BWV831, showing clarity of touch and texture and a significant shaping of melodic phrases. Her refreshing lack of academic dryness and mature approach raised this rendition to the level of a real artistic achievement.”
Uri Eppstein, The Jerusalem Post, Israel, 12.5.2003, about a recital at the Jerusalem Music Centre
“Ofra Yitzhaki is an essential figure on concert stages in Israel.”
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 9.5.2003
“Ofra Yitzhaki’s playing is characterized by profound sensitivity and great concentration, which grant her much overview over the complex subject matter. This pianist is always on top of all sound-events, never missing a nuance.”
Martin Schrahn, Ruhr Nachrichten, Germany, 9.7.2002, about a recital in Klavierfestival Ruhr, Germany
“Ofra Yitzhaki’s playing of an unknown beautiful concerto by Benedetto Platti was very musical and brilliant. Later in the concert, Ofra’s unique playing stood out also in Bach’s concerto for three pianos.”
Ora Binur, Ma’ariv Daily, Israel, 7.5.2002, about a performance with the 'Tel Aviv Soloists' Ensemble 
“Among the performers shone pianist Ofra Yitzhaki in her breathtaking playing.”   
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha'aretz Daily News, Israel, 10.10.2002, about a performance of Messiaen's 'Oiseaux Exotiqus' with the Israel Contemporary Players
“An Evening with Soul, Poetry, and Glorious Sounds : Ofra Yitzhaki is young and courageous...she played European premieres of contemporary works and promoted their acknowledgment with charming, dedicated piano-artistry.”
Sonja Mueller-Eisold, Westfälische Rundschau, Germany, 9.7.2002, about a recital in 'Klavierfestival Ruhr'
“Pianist Ofra Yitzhaki played the solo part with extraordinary éclat.”
Uri Eppstein, The Jerusalem Post, Israel, 2002, about a performance of Messiaen's 'Oiseaux Exotiques' at the Jerusalem Music Center
“'Alienated Quotations' (from 1982), by Hungarian composer József Sári has intellectual freedom, and the ever-bewitching sonorities of the prepared piano, which sounded, in Ofra Yitzhaki’s excellent playing, like an impossible orchestra that includes far-eastern gongs, African drums and Chopin’s piano.” 
Noam Ben-Ze'ev, Ha’aretz Daily News, Israel, 21.1.2001, about a performance with the 'United Berlin' Ensemble
"Ofra Yitzhaki played the Zwilich gracefully, and later performed 'The Old Order Changeth', an energetically spiky, detailed work by Milton Babbit."
Allan Kozinn,The New York Times, 4.3.2000, about a performance at the Carnegie Recital Hall
"Juilliard Student Ofra Yitzhaki played a vivid rendition of Ernst Bloch's Sonata."
Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 25.11.1999, about a performance at New York's Lincoln Center